Sugar Rush: Ice Cream Trio at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in Lakeview

The most important thing I picked up from living in Columbus, Ohio for a year was an addiction appreciation of the power and glory of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. Extra creamy and creatively flavored, Jeni's has a remarkably ability to make other ice cream seem one dimensional—like it's missing something. Perhaps that's why I start acting strange whenever I learn someone hasn't tried the ice cream before. At first I get all pushy and hyperbolic, before realizing that all I have to do is hand over a pint of the stuff with a spoon and let them get to business.

Jeni's has been shipping to Chicago for years, but I was still excited when the company announced plans for a permanent scoop shop in Lakeview (click here for an interview with owner Jeni Britton Bauer about the project). Though all of the ice cream is still made in Ohio and shipped here (for all kinds of logistical reasons), the shop offers a much larger selection of flavors at cheaper prices than I've been able to find it around town.

I marked the occasion with a trio of backyard mint, salty caramel, and askinoise dark milk chocolate. All three were fantastic, especially the bracing mint. But I've also never been disappointed by a flavor. My advice is to go with what looks good to you.